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Studies in Sociology 

SOCIOLOGICAL MONOGRAPH NO. 12 



Vol. Ill 



MAY 1919 



No. 4 



EDITED BY EMORY S. BOGARDUS 
Department of Sociology, University of Southern California 



RURAL COMMUNITY 

LIFE IN THE 

HAUTE MARNE 



BY 



ERNEST G. BISHOP, A.M. 



Published by the Southern California Sociological Society 

University of Southern California 

Los Angeles, California 






RURAL COMMUNITY LIFE IN THE 
HAUTE MARNE 

By ERNEST G. BISHOP, A.M.* 

1. Introduction. — There is no region in western Europe so 
rich in historical association as that valley which is drained by 
the river JMarne. Not less important than the victories of Tours 
and Chalons in saving France and the liberties of free nations 
from the blighting menace of invading and destructive hordes 
stand the triumphs won at the first and second battles of the 
Marne. That name is woven permanently into the fabric of 
history. Upper Marne River, having its source in the Depart- 
ment of Haute Marne, also drains historic ground. At a time 
when France was a wilderness and without roads, warriors navi- 
gated this stream and fought along its banks. At Langres, near 

Editor's Note : The author of this study was born in Hastings, England. At 
the age of eight months he came to the United States. 

Mr. Bishop received the degree of Bachelor of Arts from the University of 
Southern California in .June, 191.5, and the degree of Master of Arts from the same 
institation one y^ar later. He was married to Miss Florence B. Hight, R. N., of 
Los Angeles on December 19, 1917, in Tacoma, Washington. 

Mr. Bishop entered the service of the United States Army on October 3, 1917. 
He was in training in Company A. .348th Machine Gun Battalion at Camp Lewis, 
which was often spoken of as the best trained and most efficient unit in Camp. Mr. 
Bishop left Camp Lewis on June 25, 1918, for overseas duty and arrived at the 
village of Poulangy, situated among the hills about fourteen kilometers from the 
American headquarters at Chaumont. After two months of intensive drill, the 348th 
departed for the front lines and reached a position in reserve on September 22. 
Three hours after the Battalion went into action on September 26, Mr. Bishop, 
was severely wounded. Both limbs and the left arm were broken, and twenty-one 
schrapnel wounds were suffered. In a remarkable article entitled "How it feels to 
he shot." in the San Francisco Bulletin for March 22, 1919, Private Bishop reports 
that he has twenty-one souvenirs of the battle of the Argonne "I collected alto- 
gether twenty-one of them (schrapnel), all fortunately in the arms and legs." 
Private Bishop says that after the 77 had bursted with a terrific roar, "My ears 
rung with a sharp, metallic din, my head buzzed and for a fleeting second I ques- 
tioned whether I was dead or alive. In fact, my inner consciousness seemed to 
insist that I was dead." 

He left France on January 20, 1919 ; reached New York, January 31 ; and 
arrived at Letterman Hospital, San Francisco on February 14, where he is at 
present writing (April 15, 1919,) in the charge of the reconstruction aides. In a 
letter. Mr. Bishop says, "I have no regrets whatever, for I was crippled in the 
greatest crusade, the most righteous cause that mankind ever undertook." 

The first draft of this monograph was made in France while the author was a 
hospital patient. 



the source of this stream, Caesar subdued one of the native tribes. 
And battles have been waged and counsels have been held along 
this watercourse during the great conflicts of western Europe, 
from the time of Caesar's invasion until the present day. Thus, 
a study of a region so favored with a historical background and 
of its inhabitants whose mode of living is so utterly alien to the 
modern world to which we are accustomed is full of interest, 
especially since France has been the storm center of the Great 
War and her deeds of valor and might have won the admiration 
of the civilized world. 

2. France a Rural Nation. — France is a country still in the 
agricultural stage of industry. More people live in the country 
than in the cities, a condition largely due to Napoleon's agrarian 
reforms, by the provisions of which small holdings were parceled 
out to the citizens as an inducement to remain on the soil and to 
build up a sturdy peasantry. Thus, instead of a few large estates 
there are many small farms. An idea of their number may be 
gained by recalling the fact that the average size is seventeen 
acres. As a result of this agricultural prominence national life 
has a strong rural trend. Designs upon coins and engravings 
upon currency represent chiefly pastoral scenes — the sowing of 
seeds and the harvesting of ripened sheaves. The Department 
of Haute Marne is a representative district of rural France. 

3. Topography. — Haute Marne is a region of unsurpassed 
scenic beauty and pastoral tranquillity, untouched by the blight- 
ing desolation of the recent war. The predominant features of 
the landscape are a continuous series of forest-crowned hills 
with intervening valleys, green with vegetation, through which 
streams move leisurely on their journeys to the sea. Hard- 
packed stone roads, bordered by rows of tall poplars, follow the 
course of the valleys and wind their way over the hills. Kainfall 
is abundant; the soil is well adapted to agriculture. Hence this 
region is ideal for dairying and general farming. 

4. The Rural Village. — The rural village consists of a group 
of buildings of varied age and architecture which are clustered 
along narrow and crooked streets. They are built entirely of 
stone and roofed with tile. . Houses set amid lawns, flowers, and 

Gift 
iUH 2 IS^ 



milestones in the lives of the people ; and in honor of these occa- 
sions the drab attire of labor is exchanged for the one costume 
in which the owner will ultimately be laid away beneath the 
shadow of the churchyard walls. 

7. The New Day. — The coming of American troops to billet 
in the rural communities of Haute Marne marked an epoch in 
the lives of the native population. Instead of being quartered 
together in one building the troops were scattered about the 
village, a few here, a few there, in attics, in lofts, in basements, 
wherever there was room. As a result of dividing the soldiery 
into small groups social contact with the villagers became firmly 
established. By degrees America, the mythical, the land of fabu- 
lous wealth, became less a strain upon credulity and more of an 
established fact. Eagerness to learn the language on one hand 
and native politeness and hospitality on the other worked to- 
gether for the securing of friendly relations. Especially was this 
true in regard to the children. Being more approachable and 
quicker to grasp the meaning of the ideas of the newcomers, the 
children became the media of communication between parents 
and troops. To furnish diversion and entertainment for their 
hosts the battalions frequently gave programs consisting of 
athletic feats, songs, and music in the village square. During 
these gala occasions the entire population was present, all keenly 
enjoying the novel situation. The American private soldier with 
his dollar a day is looked upon as the real nouveau riche; his 
money freely spent in the village shops adds greatly to the 
income of many people living on a precariously narrow margin 
previous to his arrival. 

8. Family Life. — The chief characteristic of family life is 
its stability. Marriage which is planned and carried out by the 
parents, the family doctor, and the cure is a social collaboration. 
This term also applies to family activity. All work together in the 
garden, the stable, and the field, constituting a harmonious and 
well-ordered labor unit. Due to a war status of industry nearly 
all of woman'^s work lies outside the home. Early and late, 
women of all ages and conditions toil at tasks often beyond their 
strength, silently and with ox-like patience. Still, no unrest is 
evidenced; no complaint is voiced. To keep the hearth warm 
and the fields cultivated, to share in all sacrifices, tp rear their 
offspring, to care for refugees and orphans, in short to carry on 
at home as loyal and patriotic soldiers of the second line of 
defense — these are the tasks to which they have wholeheartedly 
devoted themselves. 

9. Conclusion. — The fact should be borne firmly in mind 
that this study deals with the abnormal situation incidental to 
war times. To judge the French people and their customs, man- 

7 



ners, and mode of living correctly we must bring a full measure 
of charity, sympathy, and understanding to bear upon the sub- 
ject. France has indeed suffered burdens grievous to be borne. 
All her young men are dead; her fertile fields, a desolate waste. 
Wars have decimated her population and ravaged her territory 
since times immemorial The drain upon man-power and re- 
sources has been appalling. Lying adjacent to a ruthless enemy 
who covets her mines and fields her position has been so insecure 
as to keep the people in a constant state of suspense. Even 
in peace times a large standing army is imperative. Not only 
are these men taken from productive industry but also the labor 
of many others is required to support them. With frontiers as 
secure as ours, with all energies and resources turned to internal 
development and the productive pursuits of peace, France would 
be an unusually rich and progressive country. , 

Again, the French have the old world type of mind, adhering 
closely to custom and convention. ''They are far more conven- 
tional, because an older people than we. In the United States 
men are always on the move. It is rare for a father and his 
children and grandchildren to follow the same pursuits or even 
to live in the same town. In France the great opportunity is not 
to do something different, but to continue doing well what was 
begun a hundred years ago. The American motto is "Get On!" 
The French is ' ' Stand Fast ! ' '^ France, smaller than Texas, sup- 
ports a population of 40,000,000. To survive competition and to 
live comfortably there must be an intensive pursuit of livelihood. 
No one can afford to move from town to town or to change occu- 
pations at will. There are no broad, virgin acres awaiting set- 
tlement, no cheap lands to support a constantly moving farming 
class, so extensive as to respond productively to surface cultiva- 
tion. The limited home-acres must be tilled deeply and inten- 
sively. "The tremendous and inevitable rivalry in business, and 
in the liberal professions, forces the French to perfect them- 
selves in one branch rather than to dabble in many. It makes 
them prefer security to risk. The people who love risk begin 
by emigrating. Those who love security stay at home. "^ 

Thus a people rooted deeply in the soil and lacking contact 
with progressive ideas are somewhat impervious to innovation 
and change. But American capital and machinery will do much 
to put agriculture upon a more modern and productive basis. 
Greater than material aid, however, is the influence of progres- 
sive ideas in regard to those things which make life truly worth 
while — sanitation, housing, living conditions, recreation, and 
social betterment. A brighter and a more perfect day is about 
to daMm for those valiant defenders of freedom whose motto is, 
"Liberty, Equality, Fraternity." 

1 B. Van Vorst, France Our Ally, pp. 4, 5. 

2 lUd, p. 5. 

8 



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019 637 767 



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